TWO teenagers have cycled the height of Mount Everest to raise more than a £1,000 for charity.

Cycling nuts Lukas Nerurkar, 13, from Hangleton, and Tom Pughe-Morgan, 14, from Plumpton, repeatedly peddled up Ditchling Beacon to achieve the height of Mount Everest.

The boys were inspired to take on the humongous task to help children in Nepal affected by severe floods.

So far they have raised £1,349.

Lukas, who attends Cardinal Newman Catholic School, said: “We are doing the ride because we like to challenge ourselves and are a bit crazy. We also want to raise money for Nepal because Everest is located there.

“We saw what was happening with the floods and we wanted to help kids of our age so Nepal Youth Foundation was the perfect choice for us.” Tom, who attends Chailey School, said: “We race competitively in cycling and it’s something we will really enjoy, so this will test us.”

The challenge known as Everesting in the cycling world, saw the boys ride up the steep hill - 140m in elevation - 63 times to cycle the height of the world’s tallest mountain Mount Everest: 8,848m high.

The boys were supported through the 0.9 mile (1.4km) long climbs by the friends they cycle with at Preston Park Youth Cycling Club.

They were also kept fed and hydrated through the sweat and tears by their proud parents who watched on and timed the laps.

Proud mum Gail Nerurkar said: “When they first looked into the challenge I thought it was a huge undertaking, but they were absolutely determined to do it. Now they are doing it is great, and they have done really well.”

This monsoon season floods have ravaged South Asia, affecting millions of people across Nepal, India and Bangladesh, killing more than 1,200.

Nepal suffers frequent flooding during the June to September monsoon season, but international aid agencies say it has been worse this year.

Simon Russell, of Nepal Youth Foundation UK, said: “These boys are just brilliant, what a fabulous use of the summer holidays.”